Shafter getting new bike lanes to help curb air pollution

Community-based efforts to reduce air pollution in Shafter are bringing a special benefit to city residents: new bike lanes.

Board members of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District voted two weeks ago to set aside $1.275 million to paint and resurface, as necessary, 5 miles of existing roadways for use by bicyclists.

The new lanes are intended to connect schools, parks and places of business, stretching from Schnaidt Street east to Beech Avenue. Much of the route will follow Lerdo Highway, with sizable portions along Los Angeles, Mannel, Shafter and Tulare avenues.

Moving forward with the project was a priority for a local steering committee set up by 2017’s Assembly Bill 617, which provided the money required for construction. Work is expected as soon as the start of next year and take no more than about three months.

The air district’s director of community strategies and resources, Jessica Olsen, said Tuesday the bike lanes are expected to reduce annual emissions of pollution by 7.5 tons by taking cars off the road and suppressing dust. Among more than three dozen measures the steering committee considered, the proposed lanes were easily within the top three favorites.

A funding agreement awaits final approval and engineering work remains to be done, said Director Mike James of the city of Shafter’s Public Works Department. He noted the project will be scalable, meaning that the bike lane can be lengthened if money becomes available to do so.

When the project came up for public review, he noted, bicyclists around the city spoke up with strong support.

“There are actually some pretty passionate cyclists in town,” he said.

The project is being done in combination with other road improvements being carried out by the city of Shafter and the county of Kern, which is doing curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements in an unincorporated area known as the Mexican Colony. Those projects were also proposed by the local AB 617 steering committee as a way of reducing local air pollution.